BLI Stealth Mikado Settings

[mbrodnax]

Just got my BLI stealth mikado. Does anyone have any good BEMF and/or chuff settings for esu? The autotune seems off especially for the chuff timing. I know this is the first "stealth" mikado but I know there's some conversions out there and I'm guessing the previously released stealth pacific would be a decent start for settings.

[peteski]

I have no settings to offer, but auto-tune is strictly for BEMF and motor performance. It has nothing to do with chuff tuning.  The ESU decoder manual has a section about getting the chuffs in sync with the drivers, and which CVs are responsible for that. See section 13.3 (page 95).

[PanAmShay]

I don't have any useful info to add, but I have a BLI/Lowell Smith Stealth Mike on pre-order, so will look to see if you learn anything before mine arrives.  I'm assuming I'll put in a ESU Nano Next18 58928 decoder.  I'm also curious to explore if there is space for a ESU PowerPack in these.  Good luck!

[jdcolombo]

In order to adjust chuff timing on an ESU sound decoder, you use CV's 57 and 58.

Crack the throttle open so that the engine is running smoothly at its slowest speed (for me, that's usually speed step 1 or 2 out of 128), and adjust CV57 using ops mode (programming on the main).  I start with a value of around 70 and adjust up/down from there as needed until I get the timing as perfect as possible.

Then open the throttle to about 20 (out of 128, using 128 speed steps) and adjust CV58 to get the timing as good as possible at that speed,  I usually start with a value of 24, and adjust up/down from there.

BTW, the auto-tune sequence WILL affect chuff timing if it resets CV53, which is the reference voltage.  If you want the absolute best performance possible, DO NOT USE AUTO-TUNE.  Instead, set CV53 at 130, and then use the ESU default values for CV's 51, 52, 54 and 55.  See how the engine runs.  If it is not absolutely smooth at speed step 1/128 or 2/128, adjust CV's 51 and 52 using ops mode programming to smooth it out.  A BLI Mike is capable of extraordinary slow-speed performance and nearly perfect chuff timing if you take the time to do the adjustments correctly. 

John C.

[peteski]

That is basically what the ESU decoder manual states.  If auto tune is done before chuff adjustment it should not affect them, no?

[jdcolombo]

Yes, if you do auto-tune BEFORE the chuff adjustments, you won't affect them.  But I personally have found that you can always get better results by manually setting CVs 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 than using auto-tune.  Yes, it takes significantly more time (and a lot of patience!) to do it this way, but the results in my cases have always been superior.  And in any event, you should always do the chuff timing LAST, after you've finished with the BEMF settings, whether you use auto tune or do it manually.

John C.

[peteski]

I have done auto-tune as the initial baseline, then manually adjust the BEMF CVs.